Good News!

by Polly Mann, WAMM

Moratorium 2000 Organizing Against the Death Penalty

Moratorium 2000 is a national organization seeking a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ (of Dead Man Walking fame) is one of many behind the movement. Legislatures in at least 14 of the 38 states with death penalty laws have considered, or are now considering, stopping executions. Petitions with over 300,000 signatures have been delivered to Kofi Annan and the UN. State groups are urged to convince their legislators that now is the time for a moratorium. Petitions are available at the WAMM office.

Israeli Women Protest Closure Policy

Five hundred Israeli women recently massed outside their nation's defense ministry. Dressed in black and wearing black sandwich boards with the word "Closure" painted in white in three languages, the women protested their nation's policy of closure. Closure is designed to isolate Palestinian people physically and economically, preventing Palestinians and their goods from crossing into or through Israel, into Egypt via Rafah in Gaza, or into Jordan via the Allenby Bridge. The policy has resulted in high unemployment and economic losses estimated at $4 million to $6 million per day.

The women's demonstration and chanting against closure drew sirens, police brutality, and paddy wagons. As the women crossed a street, a group sat down, blocking traffic. Seventeen women, four men, and their lawyer were arrested and later released on bail. Israeli groups represented included the Coalition of Women for a Just Peace, Bat Shalom, Mothers and Women for Peace (formerly Four Mothers), New Pro&Mac222;le: Movement for the Civilization of Society in Israel, Neled, Women Engendering for Peace, Women in Black, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

Activists Join Efforts to Confront Injustice in Iraq

In February, 60 organizations met in Denver, Colorado, to form the National Network to End the War on Iraq. Nine Minnesotans joined representatives of peace and justice groups from around the United States to form this network of resistance to the ongoing bombings and the ten years of economic sanctions that have killed more than one million Iraqis. The network established National Days of Action; for more information, see WAMM Events.

WAMM Member Joins Zapatista Caravan

WAMM member Lois Swenson was one of the 100,000 people gathered in Mexico City on March 14, 2001, supporting the rights of the indigenous people of Chiapas. Lois spent 16 days traveling in one of the buses from Chiapas to the City. "One of the most exciting sights was on the first day, when hundreds of indigenous people came down from the mountains to join in the caravan. Packed in trucks so tightly they were forced to stand during the trip down to board the buses, they were so eager and hopeful about the future that it was contagious."

The number of buses in the caravan fluctuated from 12 to 15 generally, but at one time there were 22. Some people joined for a portion of the trip, then left. One bus carried most of the Americans. Another bus carried Italian nationals who have been active in the Zapatista movement.

People were on their own for meals and lodging. At bus stops they rushed through the small towns to find restaurants. At the sound of the Mexican national anthem, all returned to the buses. Lois and other Americans generally stayed in hotels, but Lois did camp out for a few nights. Along the way, participants in the caravan drummed up support in bus-stop villages for proposed legislation that would grant limited autonomy to indigenous people.

The arrival of the caravan in Mexico City was breathtaking, according to Lois. "There was so much enthusiasm. It was not only empowering, it was exhilarating." It was a defining moment for the Zapatistas, who have been under siege by previous Mexican governments but on this day were actually welcomed by President Vicente Fox.

Subcommandante Marcos, in his address to the people, made the connection between corporate globalization and the struggle of indigenous people for their rights. One of the issues of concern to the indigenous of Chiapas is the planned construction of a railroad, which represents displacement of their people. At one time the indigenous people occupied the plains of Chiapas, but they were forced to move up into the mountains as ranchers took over that area. The railroad would facilitate the extraction of lumber and other resources from the mountains, which provide refuge and subsistence living for the indigenous people.